Naruto & Gaara: Blood Brothers
by Narutofan90000
Summary: Naruto and Gaara, sons of the Yondaime Hokage. One was given to Suna as an appeasement, another used to seal away the Kyuubi. Naruto, jinchuriki of Shukaku in Suna, Gaara, jinchuriki of Kyuubi in Konoha. M for safety. Not Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

**Naruto & Gaara: Blood Brothers**

**Ch.1 A Kage's Anger & A Kage's Ultimatum**

Narutofan90000

The Kazekage watched as the ten coffins containing some of his best shinobi past by, his face hidden behind a veil. The Councilors near the Kazekage inched away slowly, feeling the killing intent the man was leaking off of him. As the funeral procession passed, the Kazekage abruptly turned away from the crowd, walking back to his office, one hesitant adviser following him.

The Kazekage looked at his adviser coldly as he sat down in his chair, contemplating what he would do about the ten shinobi that had been killed at Konoha's border.

"Kazekage-Sama?" His adviser said hesitantly, pulling the Kage from thought.

"Send a message to Konoha. Tell them they are to find who is responsible for this and bring them to Suna for punishment. Failure to do so will ensure that this is seen as an act of war on their part, and we will respond accordingly." The Kazekage said, the anger in his voice nearly palpable.

"Right away Kazekage-Sama!" The adviser said, leaving the room hurriedly.

The Kazekage sat back, sighing as he tried to find justification in what he had just done. Turning back to the windows behind him and looking down at the funerals, his anger returned, convincing him he had made the right choice, and depending on Konoha's reply, would inform his troops if there would be war against their long time ally.

KONOHA- Four Days After

"Yondaime-Sama!" The messenger yelled as he burst into the Hokage's office. "We have word of the Kyuubi moving in our direction from the northwest, and our hidden base in the area has gone dark!" The messenger looked at his Kage, seeing him looking down at a letter, a frown of worry marring his features as his wife, Kushina Uzumaki looked over his shoulder at the letter, frowning as well as she placed a hand on her engorged stomach, wincing in pain as one of the two children inside of her kicked.

Minato Namikaze was the youngest Kage so far, happily married, leading the most prosperous village by far, hailed as the strongest ninja in the world due to his Hirashin, about to be the father of two beautiful children, and if the letter on his desk, and the report he had just heard from his messenger meant anything, in deep shit. _'We can handle the Kyuubi. We can handle a war with Suna, but not at the same time, and definitely not so soon after the Second Shinobi war.'_ He thought to himself, his frown deepening as he tried to figure out a way to appease Suna and stop the Kyuubi's rampage, which was coming closer and closer to the village.

Waving the messenger out, he leaned back in his chair, covering his face as he sighed heavily. Kushina moved from her spot behind him, sitting on his lap and looking at him, waiting patiently for him to talk. Minato slowly sat back up, wrapping his arms around his wife and kissing the top of her head as she buried her face in his shoulder.

"Kushina?" He whispered. Getting a slight movement from his wife, he looked down at her, a small frown still on his face. "What am I supposed to do?" He looked at her, a pleading look on his face.

Kushina looked up at Minato, a small, comforting smile on her face. "I don't know." She said.

Her blatant honesty made Minato sweat-drop before he gave a small smile of his own.

"So I guess I just have to wing it, huh?"

Kushina's smile widened before she kissed her husband quickly. "Now that's the Minato I know." She grinned. "I know if your sons were here right now, they'd be willing to help you."

Minato looked down at his wife, placing his hand gently on her stomach and smiling gently when he felt a kick. "Maybe they know something I forgot to think of." He smiled jokingly.

Kushina smiled lightly at Minato before giving him another kiss. "I need to go home and lay down." She said tiredly. Minato looked at her worriedly, putting a hand to her forehead before she knocked it away. "I'm fine." She said exasperatedly, rolling her eyes at her husband's over-protectiveness.

Minato looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure? You've been getting sicker and sicker since the second trimester." He was about to say more, but the two Chuunin who guarded his door brought in stacks of paperwork. Minato deadpanned, looking at the ungodly amount of paperwork as Kushina giggled at his misfortune.

"I'll be going now." Kushina said with a smile, flashing out of the office and back to the Hokage's mansion. The minute she got there, she held onto the dresser, doubling over in pain. She slowly straightened up, staggering to the bed and laying down carefully, rubbing her stomach worriedly."

Minato sat in his office, stressed. _'How the hell am I going to appease Suna and stop the Kyuubi?'_ He thought, desperate for a solution. Thinking hard, he remembered what Kushina had said.

Suddenly, his face lit up with hope. _'__That's it!'_ Frowning right after his genius thought, he wondered how he would break his decision to Kushina as he sat down to write back to the Kazekage.

He would lose his firstborn son to Suna, and his second son to Kyuubi. Kushina would take both of them with her to Suna, and they would live there together after they sealed Kyuubi in their little boy, having already chosen the names. Naruto Uzumaki would be his firstborn son's name and Gaara Uzumaki would be his second son, the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

_'Kushina's going to kill me.'_ He thought worriedly before steeling himself. _'It's for the good of the village.'_ He thought, trying to make the punishment he'd soon be facing seem worth it. _'I'm fucked.'_ He thought, knowing he was going to die the minute he told Kushina.

SUNA- Arrival Of The Response Letter

"Kazekage-Sama, we have a reply from Konoha." The messenger informed his Kage, handing him a letter. The Kazekage opened the letter, reading over it carefully. After finishing the letter, he sat back, thinking on his options. He nodded to himself before looking back at his messenger.

"Write back to Konoha, tell them I have agreed to their plans of appeasement." He ordered before turning back to his window as his messenger disappeared with a quick nod. The Kazekage looked over his village, a small smile on his face. _'Maybe this will help make our Daiymo use our __shinobi instead of Konoha's. A deal such a this is a slap in the face for a great nation such as Konoha.'_

The Kazekage's smile widened before he shunshined home. Today was a good day for Suna.

KONOHA- Hokage's Mansion

Kushina screamed unintelligibly as she threw whatever she could grab at Minato, who was doing his best to protect his face from the glasses, plates, vases and the occasional spoon. While Kushina's scream was unintelligible, it was one full of anger and sadness. Bear poked his head up from behind the overturned table, only for a vase to hit him in the face. Ducking back down and holding his broken face mask, he shook his head to Rabbit and Boar, the other two Anbu who where hidden behind the table with him.

"I don't think she'll calm down anytime soon." He stated simply, looking at his two colleagues.

"We have to protect Hokage-Sama though!" Rabbit whispered, worried his colleagues would leave him to help their leader.

Boar shook his head, looking at Rabbit. "Hokage-Sama got himself into this mess, and do you want to be the one on the end of Kushina's wrath?"

Rabbit shook his head quickly, causing Bear to smirk behind his cracked mask. "Then I believe a strategic retreat is in order." He told Boar and Rabbit. Getting nods from both of them, he shunshined away, and they quickly followed.

Kushina was running out of steam, throwing the last glass from the cabinet, she looked for something else to throw as she panted heavily. Grimacing in pain, she clutched her stomach as one of the babies kicked. Minato quickly took advantage of the cease-fire and crossed the short distance between them and wrapped his arms around her, whispering.

"I'm sorry, but I had to for the good of Konoha." He whispered softly, holding her close, running a hand through her hair.

Kushina fought against his grasp, hitting him weakly and trying to push him away, tears streaming down her face. "You bastard." She said weakly, trying to push away from him.

Minato frowned slightly, pulling her closer to him, rocking both of them gently as he tried to calm her. "I know Kushina-Hime, but it was the only way to stop our village's destruction. You'll be with them both, and eventually we'll sneak you three back into Konoha." He said reassuringly.

Kushina wiped her eyes, looking up at him sadly, a little hope in her eyes. "Promise?" She whispered tentatively.

Minato smiled down at her. "I promise." He kissed her lovingly. Pulling back, he smiled again, holding her close. " And I never go back on a promise." He grinned as she laughed through her sobs.

"Baka." She said, resting her head against his chest.

Minato smiled down at her, still rocking her lightly. "But I'm your Baka." He said, smiling softly at her.

Kushina looked up at him, a little anger still in her eyes. "Don't think you're off the hook yet Baka." She said, a menacing look in her eyes.

Minato gulped, looking down at her. "I just remembered, I still have so much paperwork to do at the office so I should head back there I love you bye!" Minato said before disappearing in a flash of yellow light.

Kushina frowned angrily before heading back to bed, feeling drained. "I'll kick his ass tomorrow." She muttered to herself, rubbing her stomach as she felt a kick.

KONOHA- Three Months Later

The normally peaceful village was now consumed in chaos as buildings crumbled and burned. Civilians ran from the beast as the village's shinobi raced forward to stop the monster's assault, many meeting their ends from just a swing of its tail, or being blown back by the power of its roar.

Kushina Uzumaki screamed in pain as she finally passed on of her children. The doctor quickly cut the umbilical cord and handed the boy off to a nurse who took him to the washing station quickly.

"Do you have a name for him?" The doctor yelled, trying to be heard over the distant roars.

Kushina nodded weakly, straining her voice to yell back. "Naruto Uzumaki."

The doctor nodded, writing it on the birth certificate quickly before putting it down and getting ready to deliver the next baby as the hospital was shaken to its foundations.

JUST OUTSIDE OF KONOHA

Minato bounced off of the ground as he flew backwards. He was immediately caught by one of his Anbu while two other Anbu operatives fired off jutsu at the Kyuubi to distract it. "Bear-San, I need to get to the hospital." Minato wheezed.

Bear nodded, making a handsign and using a shunshin to reach the hospital. Appearing outside of Kushina's room, he opened the door for Minato, stepping into the room after the Kage.

The doctor had just finished washing off the little redheaded boy as Minato walked in. bowing to the Hokage, he handed him Gaara. "You requested the second-born the minute you got here." He stated, getting a nod of confirmation from Minato, who looked at his wife.

"Is Kushina okay?" He asked the doctor worriedly.

The doctor nodded quickly. She's just a little tired from the stress Hokage-Sama." The doctor said, placating Minato.

Minato walked over to Kushina, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "I'm sorry Kushina, but I don't think I'll still be around when you wake up." He whispered against her skin.

"Would you like to see your firstborn son Hokage-Sama?" The doctor asked, getting a quick nod as his answer. The doctor signaled the nurse, who carried a little bundled up baby with a tuft of blonde hair. Minato smiled down at the baby, taking Naruto from the nurse. He then looked over to Gaara, motioning the doctor to bring him over. Taking Gaara, he cradled both of his sons carefully, looking down at them both lovingly.

Moving slowly, he handed Naruto to Bear. "Make sure he gets to Hiruzen safely. Then tell him he'll need to get to the battlefield to take care of Gaara for me." Bear nodded before he shunshined away to Hiruzen's estate. Minato looked at his wife one last time before he started coughing. The doctor looked at him concerned, moving to help his Kage until he was waved off. Minato disappeared in a flash of yellow, appearing on the battlefield in time to see the broken body of Boar crash into the tree near him. Putting Gaara down, he flashed though handsigns before shouting. "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

Suddenly, he was eye to eye with Kyuubi, a giant Tanto the only thing keeping it back. A humongous water dragon slammed into Kyuubi, pushing it back long enough for Minato to pick up Gaara from the top of Gamabunta's, the chief toad summon, head. Running through more seals, the Shingami appeared behind Minato as Kyuubi slammed into Gamabunta again. The Shingami slammed its hand through Minato's back, ripping a hole through his body before it became intangible, passing safely through Gaara, and grabbing Kyuubi by the neck, slamming him into the ground.

Kyuubi yelped in pain before the Shingami's hand slowly sank through his skin. Struggling, the fierce monster tried to escape death's cold grasp, but it was too late. The Shingami pulled The Kyuubi's soul from its body, leaving behind a lifeless husk. As the hand of the Shingami passed through Gaara again, it left the kitsune's soul in the boy, sealing it into little Gaara. The Shingami disappeared as Minato fell off of Gamabunta's head. Turning so that his back hit the ground, Minato cradled a crying Gaara as he slammed into the ground. Looking at Gaara, he saw his eyes were opened. Minato smiled softly at Gaara as he tried to hush him. "You've got your mother's eyes kiddo. He looked at the sky sadly. "Kami how I love those eyes." He said, slowly closing his eyes, holding Gaara protectively.

KONOHA HOSPITAL

The Doctor was on the ground, his head split open from the bit of the collapsed ceiling that struck him. In his hand was the medicine to calm Kushina's heart rate. The nurse lay only a few feet away, the machine monitoring Kushina's heart rate crushing her while it beeped faster and faster until more of the ceiling fell, leaving the machine on one long, nonstop beep.

WITH HIRUZEN SARUTOBI

Hiruzen raced across the quiet battlefield to Kyuubi's motionless body. Digging his heels into the ground and skidding to a stop, Hiruzen dropped to his knees in front of Minato's lifeless body.

Looking at the gaping hole in his chest, Hiruzen knew it was too late for the Yondaime Hokage and instead took the little boy from his father's grasp.

Bear ran through the forest after Hiruzen, panting lightly, astounded at the speed the old man had shown. Carrying Naruto with him, he finally came upon the clearing that had housed Minato's stand against Kyuubi. He cautiously walked up to Hiruzen, flaring his chakra to make his presence known. "Sandaime-Sama. I have Naruto and Gaara's birth certificates."

Hiruzen turned to face him. "Why?" He questioned the Anbu in front of him.

Bear looked at his previous Kage. "I felt it would be best if less people knew that they were Yondaime-Sama's children, as they would've been targeted immediately."

Hiruzen nodded, thinking to himself. Flaring his chakra, three more Anbu appeared.

"Bear, you are to take Rabbit, Wolf and Weasel with you to deliver Naruto to Dog in Suna. Inform him that his mission parameters have changed, and he is to watch Naruto, and as soon as he safely can, return to Konoha with him." He ordered, getting nods from all of the Anbu members before they disappeared, heading towards the border. Sarutobi held the wailing Gaara and slowly carried him to his old/new office where he would once again take up the mantle of Kage. Passing the collapsed hospital, Gaara's cries became even louder and more frequent. Hiruzen held Gaara close, deeming it best to shunshin the rest of the way, he appeared in his office. _'What am I going to do?'_ He thought, looking down at Gaara as dark circles started appearing around the baby's eyes.

**A/N **

**First chapter of an idea I've had floating around in my head for awhile. Tell me what you think!**

**Not sure about updates so far, but I'll try to get to them at least once a month. As you all probably know by now, I don't own Naruto, though I would like to.**


	2. Two Kage's Plans

**Naruto and Gaara: Blood Brothers**

**Chapter 2 Two Kage's Plans**

Narutofan90000

"HOLD IT BACK!" Screamed the Kazekage, watching Shukaku slam a giant clawed hand onto his east brigade, wiping out at least twenty men who were too slow to evade the giant Tanuki. A young DESERT squad member landed haphazardly next to him, one hand pressed lightly against his left side, and his dog-like mask covered in blood that flowed freely from his hairline.

"Lord Kazekage, we need to seal it now" the young DESERT operative rasped out, wheezing as he took in air, before the lack of oxygen, and the toll of the battle caught up to him, and he slipped into unconsciousness.

The Kazekage nodded, gritting his teeth and bracing himself and holding onto the operative as Shukaku let out another blast of air, taking down another handful of sand shinobi. 'What an odd twist of fate, to use a world renowned seal master's child to seal a demon.' He thought to himself as two units double teamed Shukaku with water and wind jutsu, drawing his attention away from the Kazekage's area. The Kazekage glanced at the seal arraignment hidden behind a small outcropping of rocks, and the old woman working diligently on it. "How much longer will it take you Elder Chiyo?" He asked of the master puppeteer.

Chiyo glanced back at the Kazekage, stopping her brush strokes. "It's done, I just need the vessel to complete the ritual." She spared a glance at Shukaku's rampage. "It would've been easier if the vessel was in the womb, but the seal must be stronger since the child is already birthed."

The Kazekage looked at the young DESERT operative, slowly fading in and out of consciousness next to him, and grabbed his radio. "Rat, this is the Kazekage. Bring the package to the outcropping immediately, and have units start to lure Shukaku this way." He commanded, before tossing the radio aside and preparing himself for his part of the job; holding Shukaku in place.

Slowly his men began to assault Shukaku again, using hit and run tactics, bringing him ever closer to the hidden seal arraignment. The Kazekage watched, popping two soldier pills into his mouth and preparing to open the first gate in order to hold Shukaku for a moment. Just as he started to gather the necessary chakra to open the gate, Rat appeared by his side, holding a small bundle, with chubby little arms waving out from the blanket, and a tuft of blonde hair peeking through. Bright blue eyes that held a sparkle of mischief yet to come, and a natural curiosity of the world looked up at Rat, gurgles of happiness coming from the child's mouth as he tried in vain to reach Rat's mask. "I've brought the vessel Lord Kazekage." Came the gravelly voice of Rat, announcing his arrival to his Kage.

"Bring it to Chiyo." The Kazekage grit out, his teeth clenched together as he opened the first gate. "FIRST GATE. GATE OF OPENING!" He screamed out as Shukaku stepped closer. Shukaku, sensing something wrong, turned it's head, catching sight of the Kazekage as he finished signing for a jutsu. "GOLDEN ARMOR!" Shukaku began to feel weighed down. Glaring a the Kazekage, it roared, letting it's displeasure be known as it slowly forced it's way closer to him, intent on crushing the life out of the Kazekage to show the insignificant worm his place.

The Kazekage sneered, looking up at the giant Tanuki. "That's right you ugly bastard, come get me." He spared a quick glance at Chiyo, who was finishing the handsigns for the sealing. Shukaku lifted a giant paw, swinging it at the Kazekage, who braced himself to take the hit, closing his eyes and tensing up. With the giant paw only four feet from him, he heard a voice that almost made him collapse to his knees in gratitude. "SEAL!" Chiyo shouted, Shukaku's chakra and soul being dragged into the vessel, who's bright blue eyes were squeezed shut as he cried in pain.

Dog's concsiousness was wavering. He opened his eyes and saw a blurry world in front of him. Blinking slowly, he began to make out the Kazekage as he focused, the scenery of the world falling back into place. The only thing he couldn't make out was the giant, golden blur racing towards the area the seal had been set up. 'Must be Shukaku.' He thought, fighting to maintain consciousness. He looked a little more to his right from his position on his stomach in the sand and saw Rat crouched next to him, facing the sealing circle as the energy flowed to the center. 'I wonder what they sealed the monster into.' Dog thought, focusing on the object in the center. His hearing slowly started to come back, but all he could hear was a high pitched crying. 'It almost sounds like a baby.' He thought, before his eyes widened behind his mask. "No." He rasped out, struggling to lift himself up before he gasped in pain, his eyes rolling back as he reached forward before falling back onto the desert floor, face down in the sand.

Rat could have sworn he heard someone say something. Tearing his eyes away from the sealing, he saw Dog collapse face first. "Shit!" He growled in his rough voice, stepping over to Dog and quickly turning him onto his back, his hands already glowing with medical chakra. He began to fix Dog, diagnosing his major problems quickly. 'Looks like he's got one rib floating, and another on punctured his lung.' Rat thought to himself, quickly bringing the bones back to their original area, as he used his chakra to heal his comrade's punctured lung. 'All in all not the worst of the injuries that will have been taken tonight.' He thought grimly.

The Kazekage staggered over to Chiyo, the gate of opening having closed itself due to the immense drain of trying to hold Shukaku in place. "Chiyo." He rasped. "Did it work?" he looked at her, his eyes slightly glazed over as he tried to stave off unconsciousness due to complete chakra exhaustion.

Chiyo looked at the small crying baby in front of her, laying on the remains of her sealing array. "The sealing was a success." She stated grimly. "Naruto is now the Jinchuriki or Shukaku." She paused, a dark grin on her face. "Naruto Uzumaki no Sabaku." She tried the name out. "One hell of a title." She cackled to herself. 'Let's hope the child lives up to expectations.' She thought, already knowing of the Kazekage's intentions.

SIX YEARS LATER

SUNAGAKURE

The small blonde boy smiled softly, rolling a ball to himself. As he sat there playing, a ninja watched him, crouching on an awning on the third floor of the building. The ninja sat there, fidgeting from nerves, and glancing between the two blondes, both sitting across from each other, with identical smiles one their faces. The little monster infuriated the ninja, who'd barely survived trying to seal the demon into the boy, having been saved by a passing DESERT operative. Help had arrived too late for his little brother and his team mates, but vengeance was about to be his. The only Desert operative who took even a passing interest in the boy had stepped away to go purchase lunch for the demon. His window of opportunity was closing fast. He had to make a decision and hope it was the right target. His eyes hardened as his body tensed. He'd chosen his target. Leaping down, he threw a handful of wind enhanced kunai at the little boy on the right, who's blue eyes snapped open, showing nothing but coldness, and rapidly fading light as the kunai slammed into his tiny body, sending him flying backwards even as they ripped through his back, a spray of blood showering the ground in front on him, and behind him.

The ninja landed on his feet in front of the corpse, a sick grin on his face. "I did it!" He crowed! "I killed that little gurk!" He started to celebrate before his body jerked forward and a light mist of red flew from his mouth instead of his final word. The little boy behind him, still sitting with the ball, smiled gently, even as he twitched his fingers, and the tendrils of sand extending from them and into the sand ninja's body, forcing the ninja to face him.

"That wasn't very nice!" The little blonde haired boy said, his voice coming out in an oddly melodious tone, if a bit high. "You killed my playmate!" The boy opened his eyes, which were bright and full of merriment, in complete contrast with the sick, twisted grin on his face. The ninja struggled to free himself, even as he felt the sand slowly sliding under his skin, just under his muscles. His head suddenly jerked up, forcing him to look directly at the little boy, who was watching him in amusement. "I guess you'll just have to be my new playmate." The boy said, his tone getting darker with each word, as was his face. The ninja never even got a chance to scream.

Naruto skipped happily through the village, holding hands with his newest ninja friend. People glared at him as he passed, but they gave him a wide berth, their eyes widening as they saw the ninja with him. Naruto didn't worry though, he had his new friend. And every time someone became his friend, less people bothered him. Naruto giggled a little, looking up at the ninja holding his hand. "I'm hungry after all that playing! Can I have some ice cream?" He asked the ninja, twitching his fingers slightly. The ninja nodded, reaching into his back pocket and handing Naruto his wallet. Naruto smiled. "You're the best!" He said, before racing off to the ice cream vendor. The ninja crumpled to the floor lifelessly as Naruto ran off. "Whoops!" Naruto giggled, turning back around and pointing his index finger at the lifeless shinobi. "Can't forget you, can I?" He asked rhetorically as the sand in the ninja's body pulled him forward towards Naruto. "I'll have to eat my ice cream fast, or Doggie will be mad at me for spoiling my appetite." Naruto continued his walk towards the ice cream shop, looking around to make sure Doggie wouldn't pop out of no where on him. "I hate when he does that." The whiskered blonde muttered.

MEANWHILE

KONOHAGAKURE

"Look at that little monstrosity." The woman whispered. "If Lord Hokage had any sense he'd have that Anbu he always has looking after that demon kill it and be done with this charade of pretending it's human." She gave the young red headed boy sitting on the swing of the tree in the academy yard a quick glare.

"Be careful what you say Misume." Advised the slightly older woman next to her in hushed tones. "If that thing hears you, he's bound to go ballistic Not to mention his Anbu handler might get us thrown in a cell." Gaara winced as he heard this, wishing Yamato or the Old Man would come pick him up. He hated having to sit out on the swing alone, especially since the adults always seemed to be extra mean to him when Yamato or the Old Man weren't around.

"I know, I know." Misume whispered back, her volume significantly lower than before. "It's just-" The women stopped speaking, hearing a loud rustling. They looked up at a branch on a tree that was shaking lightly, seeing ninja sandals, they paled lightly, looking up further, they saw an Anbu operative looking back down at them. They both shot parting glares at the little boy on the swing before leaving.

Gaara flinched, wishing they'd stop glaring at him. He didn't even know what he did, but people seemed to be really mean towards him all the time. He continued on that train of thought until Yamato landed in front of him. Pasting a large grin on his face, Gaara yelled, "Yamato-san. You came!"

Yamato looked at the little boy in front of him, who had a big, happy go lucky grin on his face. He nodded at the boy, putting his hand on Gaara's shoulder. "Of course I did. The Hokage wishes to see you though."

Gaara frowned. "Nani? What's the Old Man want with me?"

Yamato smiled under his mask, his good mood finding its way into his infliction. "I'm sure it's great news Gaara-kun. Now let's go." and just like that, the two disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, took a long drag from his pipe, the tobacco relaxing him slightly. The news he'd received was an amazing development. A deep cover agent in Sunagakure was preparing himself plus a VIP for extraction. The Hokage hadn't been this nervous since his final mission with his second sensei, the Nidaime, in which they'd had to sacrifice one of their team mates to survive, and he'd been named the Sandaime Hokage by his predecessor right before the man had used himself as a distraction to allow Hiruzen and his team mates a chance to escape. If they pulled this off, he would finally have a huge weight lifted off of his shoulders, and maybe his guilt would ease a little. Especially since he'd be making Gaara's life better. A small breeze alerted him to his guests, and he turned around, a small smile on his face. "Gaara-kun, how are you today?" He asked of the boy, whom he had a genuine soft spot for, viewing him as a second grandson.

Gaara's smile widened. "I'm doing great Jiji!" He chirped. "So why did I have to come here? Is there something wrong with the seal?" He asked, suddenly a little nervous.

Hiruzen faked a hurt look. "Gaara-kun, do you think I'd only want to see you if bad things were happening?" He looked at Gaara, who shook his head rapidly.

"No! I just don't know why you wanted to see me today is all Jiji! I swear!" Gaara denied his Jiji's accusations, completely missing the grin forming on the old man's face.

"It's alright Gaara." Hiruzen stopped the boy before he could start denying the accusation further. "I have good news this time around." He smiled at the child, who looked at him, eyes bright and full of anticipation. "We've found a friend for you. Someone your age, who I think you'll come to view as an older brother." Hiruzen smiled lightly as Gaara's eyes got even bigger, his jaw hanging in shock, while his eyes twinkled with excitement.

"Really?!" Gaara asked, shouting his question at the Kage. "That'll be so awesome! I'll finally have someone to play ninja with!" Gaara exclaimed, a goofy grin on his face.

Hiruzen smiled, glad Gaara was excited. "Well Gaara, I have a lot of planning to do, and even more preparing for when your friend comes next week, so you run along now. I have to discuss picking him up with Yamato." Gaara nodded as Hiruzen talked, his mind going a mile a minute.

"Okay, bye Jiji! Bye Yamato!" He shouted as he raced out. 'I gotta tell Old man Ichiraku about this!'

Hiruzen's face grew cold after Gaara left, his gaze resting on Yamato."Dragon, your mission is to extract Dog and Naruto Uzumaki no Sabaku from Sunagakure." He pointed to a small red circle on the map that covered his desk. "Memorize this location, for this is where the rendezvous will occur in four days time. Your team mates will be Toad, Dolphin, Bear, Rabbit, Jackal, and Ox. Toad will lead. Failure is not an option. Do you understand me?"

Yamato nodded curtly. "Yes Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen nodded. "You leave in six hours to secure the zone. Gather your men and supplies."

Yamato nodded at the dismissal, disappearing once more in a whirlwind of leaves. Hiruzen sighed, his shoulders sagging lightly as he took another drag from his pipe. 'I pray this goes off without a problem.' He thought, overlooking Konoha while he thought about the possible suicide mission he'd just sent his troops on.

A/N:

I'M BACK! Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Let me know how I can improve it.


	3. Doggie, Teddy, and Bunny Kick Ass

**Naruto & Gaara: Blood Brothers**

**Chapter 3: Doggie, Teddy, and Bunny Kick Ass**

Narutofan90000 

**Dedication: To all my readers! Especially the guest readers! A special shout out to two of them.**

**Guest 1: Hope your female friend didn't break the computer**

**Guest 2: Hope you, your brother, and your sister who doesn't like fanfictions continue to enjoy this one**

**Please point out any flaws, inconsistencies, or other errors that you find!**

**I do not own Naruto, or any songs/ products mentioned.**

**All I own are the OC's**

Jackal opened his eyes while simultaneously letting his hands fall, breaking the ram symbol he had been holding. "Twenty in all Sir. Four guarding the roof, six patrolling the surrounding grounds, five are currently sleeping, while three seem to be sitting around, going over scrolls." He told his superior, who was standing by his side, the rest of their squad resting in the cover behind them.

"What of the other two?" Toad asked Jackal, flipping his notebook shut and putting in into the back pocket of his Anbu uniform pants.

Jackal turned his head to his leader, addressing him directly. "They are practicing jutsu in the courtyard Sir." Jackal looked back towards the rest of his unit, who were getting ready to move in. Rabbit was rechecking his supplies, Ox was fixing his Anbu grade metal chest plate, and Dolphin was unsealing his tonfa, seemingly nervous. Out of all of them, only Bear and Toad seemed completely calm, Bear putting his brass knuckles over his gloves before screwing in small metal spikes with a deliberate slowness, slightly unnerving Jackal with the way he seemed so nonchalant. '_It almost like he knows how this is going to go down already_.'

"What about the unit we sent in?" Toad asked Jackal, who tensed up slightly as he felt chakra signatures slowly moving towards their area from behind and the sides.

"They made it in sir, but the four on the roof are decoys, they're coming in from the sides and back." Jackal whispered, slightly tensing. His eyes darted back to his superior, who still seemed completely calm, though his muscles bulged and his feet shifted, showing he was ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Now." The leader of the small assault squad calmly stated into his mic, his voice cold. Three blurs shot out of the trees, one slamming a tanto into Dolphin's back before he channeled chakra into his arm, twisting the sword to the left and ripping it though Dolphin's body. The next blur landed in front of Ox, swinging a kunai covered in wind chakra at his throat. Ox jumped back, but was too late to avoid the wind extension, which slid through his jugular, nicking his carotid artery. He landed on his feet, but crumpled quickly, putting a hand to his throat in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Rabbit hopped away from his assailant, right into the sand ninja who had struck down Dolphin. The ninja turned his blade as Rabbit jumped back, and it slid in smoothly between Rabbit's shoulder blades, sprouting out of his chest. Rabbit looked down at the blade in shock, grasping the tip with one hand before a kunai slammed into his temple. All of this happened in the span of six seconds before the three rushed Toad and Jackal. Toad shoved Jackal away, speeding through hand signs and slamming his hands onto the ground before shouting "SWAMP OF THE UNDERWORLD" The three ninja jerked to a stop, one falling on his face due to the sudden stop, and he was dragged under quickly. The other two began forming hand signs, gathering chakra to escape the swamp, but Toad was faster. "Mud Chains" He intoned darkly, as chains shot out of the swamp, wrapping around both the ninja's arms and necks before they started to pull the two trapped ninja down more quickly. The two ninja continued to struggle, looking for any way to escape, even as the swamp reached their chests.

One of the sand ninja glared at Toad, his eyes full of hatred. "You'll get yours scum." He snarled. "Even if you managed to take us down, there are still the twenty men in our outpost you'll have to overtake." His look changed to smug. "That is, if you make it out of this clearing alive." His eyes searched the surrounding area. His partner looked equally smug.

"The trees have secrets." He smirked, which prompted Toad to glance around the clearing, his eyes watching the trees surrounding them. Toad's eyes widened as he saw the exploding tags, barely visible, on the nearby tree trunks. The Sand ninja kept his smirk, even as his shorter team mate finally went under, as he saw his squad leader strike down the Anbu with the Jackal mask and rush the Anbu with a Toad mask. His smug grin changed when he heard another voice call out a jutsu, and a tree branch sprouted from the ground, slamming into his squad leader's face, before piercing his skull and exiting from the back of his head as the trees seemed to suck in the explosive tags attached to them, their sap neutralizing the small spark that would've set them off. He slowly sank into the swamp, his stomach sinking along with the rest of him as his eyes shot around the clearing and he noticed something. The bodies of the Anbu operatives his team had struck down turned into wood. '_We were tricked_.' He thought, before his last conscious thought came, with a small amount of spite in the face of his demise. '_Damn Leaf_.'

Toad stood from his crouched position in front of the swamp he had created as Dragon slowly came out of the ground behind him, in front of the tree branch that was still protruding from the skull of the deceased Sand ninja squad leader. "How did the infiltration go?" Toad asked Dragon, turning towards him.

"The attack went as planned Sir. All enemies have been neutralized and we've secured the outpost. We should be able to easily hold out the next two days until the targets arrive." Dragon told his commanding officer.

Toad nodded, turning, and slowly walking toward the outpost he'd been surveying with the wood clones. "Any casualties?" He asked his subordinate, who shook his head.

"All of our men managed to complete the mission without injury." Dragon told Toad, following him towards the outpost.

**In The outpost (Same Time as Toad taking out the Assault Team)**

The two sand chunin panted as they finally broke apart, their spar over. One plopped to the ground, panting in exhaustion. "Hey Kinta, get me my water, will you?" He asked, in between breaths, of his fellow Chunin, who was stumbling towards where his water was.

Kinta staggered another two steps before kneeling down unsteadily and grasping his water bottle. Unscrewing the cap, he greedily gulped down the water, the bottle slightly crumpling in on itself. He pulled himself away from his water once it started to escape his mouth, running down his chin. "Sure Gantai." He said, reaching for his friend's water. As he tossed it towards Gantai, his eyes caught an odd sight. A small toad was sitting right next to him. '_What an odd design on it's back.'_ He thought, leaning closer to it to better take in the astounding colors. '_Wait.. what type of toad is in the desert_?' Was his last confused thought before the toad opened it's mouth and a fist shot out, the spikes on the brass knuckles slamming into his temple and extending, shooting out the other side of his head.

Gantai's eyes tracked the water bottle until he heard a sick, squelching noise. Looking back to Kinta, he saw a man in an bear mask and an Anbu uniform pulling his hand away from his friend's head, and he watched as Kinta collapsed lifelessly in front of the man. Gantai got up as quickly as he possibly could in his exhausted state and was about to call for help when a poofing noise distracted him. Glancing quickly to the side, he saw an ox masked Anbu agent in the air where his water bottle had been, a battle ax in his hand, already in motion and closing in too fast for words. '_Guess it's my fault for asking for water._' He thought, a grim smirk on his face as the ax bit into his forehead, meeting slight resistance before it continued through, burying itself in his brain.

'_Everybody's working for the weekend_.' Rabbit sang in his head as he slid himself under the last bed in the room, placing a final explosive tag underneath it. He made his way to the door, putting a silencing seal on the frame, while crumpling another seal in his hand. He looked back into the room one last time before he activated the silencing seal and closed the door. '_Daddy done good_.' He thought to himself, a smirk on his face as he looked at the Suna ninja, who had thought it'd be a good idea to check on his sleeping comrades, slumped against the wall, a tanto through his throat, pinning him where he was. Rabbit channeled chakra into the seal still in his hand, which was holding the door knob. "Napalm Surprise" He whispered, standing at the door for another six seconds before nodding, satisfied. He opened the door and was greeted by a room covered in flames. Pulling his tanto out of the Suna ninja's throat, he tossed the corpse into the flames and shut the door again before slipping into the shadows, looking for a new target.

Dolphin took a second to steel himself, glancing over at Jackal, who was slowly unsheathing his staff sword. Jackal caught Dolphin's eyes and nodded, which caused the younger agent to breath a small sigh of relief as he watched Jackal throw his staff spear like a javelin, piercing the back of one of the Suna ninja who were grouped together, under Dolphin's genjutsu. The staff sword went through the ninja, planting itself in the ground. Jackal put his hands in the ram sea and channeled his chakra to his now blood covered weapon, that sat in the middle of the remaining enemy ninja, the weapon glowed ominously before seals appeared, covering the staff. Jackal and Dolphin ducked back behind cover as another fifty staff swords shot out of the seals covering their predecessor blade before shooting out and cutting down the enemy ninja easily. Dolphin let himself fall from the branch he was on as his danger sense went off. Landing on the branch beneath the one he'd previously occupied, he saw a staff sword's blade vibrating where his head had been, Jackal holding the wooden staff part to prevent it from going any further. Jackal looked down at Dolphin, who was glaring up at him. "My bad." He said to the agent, who was visibly upset.

Dolphin huffed. "What a great eulogy that would've been." He said sarcastically. "I swear, once this mission is done, I'm going to find a line of work where a team mate won't accidentally kill me. Like teaching at the academy." He griped before turning and heading back towards the outpost, Jackal following closely behind, slightly sheepish.

The Suna commanding Jonin sighed, leaning back. "That's the last of the damn files." He said, a slight amount of joy seeping into his voice.

"Finally!" The two genin with him exclaimed in unison, throwing their hands up in celebration. The brown haired genin boy of the group slammed his hands onto the table, attracting his Jonin sensei's attention. "Can we eat now?" He asked, before a small clattering noise distracted the three ninja. The red haired female genin picked up the wrapped up scroll that had fallen from the table with a disheartened look.

"One more." She said, sounding resigned to finishing this last part of their terrible assignment. 'Why couldn't I be napping like Shija?' She wondered, eying the scroll before it was yanked from her hands by the brown haired boy.

"Jeez, let's just get this over with already!" He growled, yanking the scroll open and breaking the trigger seal covering it. Rabbit stood outside the room, his masked pushed up enough to let him smoke a cigarette as he listened to the conversation. Hearing the seal rip, he smirked. '_Big boom_.' He thought, before a muffled explosion came from the room. He blew out smoke before flicking his cigarette and opening the door of the room. He took a step in, his eyes surveying the three mutilated corpses, torn apart by the shrapnel sealed in the explosive scroll. He nodded, slightly impressed with his newest creation, before looking down. "Awww maaan." He said aloud. "I got genin on my shoes! This is gonna take minutes to clean off. Dammit." He grumbled, before leaving the room, ambling out to the courtyard, having sensed Jackal pulse his chakra twice to let the group know the outpost was cleared.

**Present Time (Toad and Dragon's Arrival in the Courtyard)**

Toad stood, Dragon at his side, as he looked at his operatives, who were waiting in front of him for further orders. Ox stood off to the side, arms crossed, his head constantly moving as he surveyed the whole courtyard, never dropping his guard, while Dolphin and Jackal were sitting with Rabbit, who was smoking as they played cards. Ox was sitting, his back to the small tree in the courtyard as he sharpened one of his battle axes, focusing on it completely. Toad cleared his throat, immediately gaining the attention of his subordinates. Surveying the six other Anbu with him, he started to brief them on the secondary part of their mission. "I'm sure most of you were told that we were taking this outpost due to it's possible threat to Konoha." He started, getting nods from everyone excluding Dragon. "But what you don't know, is that this is an extraction of a deep cover agent, who I am the handler of, along with a secondary target, one Naruto Uzumaki, who is to be delivered safely to Konoha, no matter the cost." Bear and Rabbit stiffened, hearing that name, before they nodded curtly.

'_Wolf would've loved to be part of this mission_.' Rabbit thought, slightly sad, as he thought about his old Anbu partner, who was brutally killed by Weasel when she tried to apprehend him after he turned traitor. "_She always was upset we had to give over little Naruto-kun to these Sand fuckers_.' His thoughts turning slightly darker as he remembered the hostile hand off of the child to the Kazekage.

Bear stood stock still, tensed and ready for action, but his body given nothing away as to let anyone know his inner thoughts. '_Finally I'll be able to complete the Yondaime tasked me with._' He thought, ready to kill anyone who got in the way of the mission completion, no matter who they were.

'_My godson's have been separated too damn long_.' Toad thought angrily, ready to get this mission over with so his godson's wouldn't feel lonely anymore.

The rest of the squad had more muted reactions than the three who had vested interests in this mission, as they were focused more on extracting their fellow operative safely. Yet everyone was prepared for the hell they were about to dive into.

**Timeskip: 6 hours (Dusk)**

Toad looked from his position at the rest of his troop, missing two members. Bear and Rabbit had been chosen to move closer to the target to create a rendezvous point closer to the undercover operative, and to provide him with a buffer from Suna nin who would almost be guaranteed to follow after him. Toad's eyes roamed around the base they were holed up in, seeing all the choke points and traps set up to fend off an enemy assault. All in all, this was as prepared as they were getting for the extraction. From here on out, it was gonna be luck, skill, and teamwork that completed this mission.

Toad sighed, grumbling slightly before going back to the campfire hidden behind a partially destroyed wall to grab a stick of burnt lizard. '_Tomorrow morning will be hell._' he thought to himself, mentally preparing for the blood bath tomorrow would bring, sparing Ox a glance, the only other member of the group awake at the moment, who was pounding back shot after shot of sake. "You shouldn't be drinking so heavily Ox." Toad reprimanded lightly, taking the jug and saucer from him. "You're on a mission."

Ox swayed slightly, grumbling momentarily before he nodded, conceding to Toad's point. "Yes Sir. My apologiess." Ox said, slurring his speech slightly at the end of his sentence. "Jus' celebrating our victory early." Ox stood up, stumbling into Toad, who braced his drunken comrade. "I should prolly head to bed." Ox muttered, lumbering over to his bedroll before collapsing on it.

Toad shook his head, contemplating kicking the passed out operative in the head and making him run laps. Before he could make a decision, a voice broke him from his thoughts.

"You'll have to forgive him Toad-Sempai, he doesn't know the importance of this mission to the village. He is still a relatively low level operative." Dragon said, sitting up as he spoke, moving himself into a more relaxed position.

Jackal's muffled chuckling cut off any response Toad could have given, as he force out his view from in between laughs. "That's exactly why he's still a low level operative." He slowly regained control over himself, finishing his comment. "Even Dolphin-kun is a higher ranking than he is."

Toad shook his head, a grin forming under his mask. "So were you all awake and just letting him drink himself into a stupor?" He asked, trying and failing to make himself sound stern. A hardened vet, he knew when men needed to relax. And this mission had them all on the razor's edge nerve-wise.

"It's a possibility." Dolphin's melodious voice broke the silence that proceeded Toad's question, his voice carrying a tone of amusement as he sat up. "And I never knew you felt that way Jackal sempai, it means the world to me to hear that." He said, amusement and sarcasm plentiful in his voice.

Jackal sat up as well, moving closer to the fire and pulling out a deck of cards. "Yeah yeah, don't get used to it you little goof school teacher wannabe." He chuckled. "Imagine, my apprentice a school teacher? The shame!" He feigned mock horror before chuckling.

Dolphin laughed, moving closer to the fire as well, followed by Dragon and Toad, who both sat next to the other two operatives as Jackal started to deal cards. "However would you survive the embarrassment?" He sarcastically responded as he looked over his card.

Jackal shuffled the deck. "I wouldn't. The embarrassment would be my end." He chuckled, passing out more cards. "The game is black jack gentlemen! I assume you all know how to play?"

Getting nods all around, he moved to begin the game, before Toad's voice cut him off. "You should take that jack out of your sleeve Jackal."

Jackal froze before cursing. "Dammit. Alright, you got me. No cheating from here on in." He promised profusely.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Dragon said smugly, his words filled with humor at Jackal being caught.

"Hey!" Jackal said indignantly, as everyone around the fire laughed uproariously.

Ox rolled over, grumbling slightly as he slept, as the others sat around the fire into the wee hours of the night, playing cards and sharing stories. "God damn, let a drunk sleep, will ya?" He muttered before he sunk back into sleep.

**Bear and Rabbit: 4am (2 miles Outside of Suna)**

Bear slowly lowered the chunin to the ground, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle, as Rabbit yanked his kunai out of his target's head. Rabbit started forward, ready to infiltrate Suna, when Bear grabbed his arm. "We don't go in. We have to wait here for Dog." Bear said, halting Rabbit's attempts to keep going.

Rabbit sagged a little, sighing. " I know. It's just, he has two minutes before he's late.. The longer we're here, the better a chance we have at being caught." Rabbit said, dropping his goofy, insane persona momentarily. "I hate waiting."

Bear grinned under his mask. "I hate waiting too." Was his response as they both sunk back into the shadows, dragging the bodies with them.

**Dog: 3-3:30am(Inside Suna: 2nd agent in Naruto's protection detail)**

Dog sat on the roof across from the small apartment Naruto lived in, panting heavily. He glanced over at his long time Suna DESERT teammate, the man who saved his life, lying in a pool of his own blood. Rat was dead, and Dog was free to get Naruto out of Suna. Dog put the kunai he had rammed into Rat's neck back into his pouch, trying to block out the freshly formed memories of Rat grappling with him, and kneeing him in the ribs before he had knocked them to the ground and Dog had slid his kunai through Rat's throat. Dog rubbed his ribs before he jumped off of the roof and two Naruto's window ledge, opening it slowly.

**Naruto: 3:31am (Suna Apartment)**

Naruto sat up, waiting impatiently. He sat in his bed, playing with his stuffed toy fox. He looked at his small clock for the tenth time in twenty minutes before yawning. '_Where's Doggie? He said he'd be here by now darn it._' Naruto grumbled, hugging his fox close and flopping down onto his pillow, closing his eyes. _'I'm going to sleep. Doggie will just carry me like always.'_ He thought, cuddling his fox under his blankets. _'I hope Doggie let's me take foxy.'_ He thought, before he heard his window click open. His eyes shot open, and he sat up, a happy grin spreading across his face, his eyes sparkling with excitement before he caught himself, putting on an angry face, his eyes betraying his happiness and excitement. "You're late Doggie!" He pouted, looking at the DESERT agent, who was closing the window behind him.

"Mah mah, I got here as quick as I could Naruto-kun." Dog said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Naruto grumbled a little before accepting Dog's excuse. He shot up out of bed, carrying Foxy with him, wrapped up in his arms. "Are we going to the oases again? Can I bring Foxy? Will Mouse be there too?" Naruto asked his questions, bouncing around Dog, his questions firing off one after another.

Dog looked down at Naruto, sighing slightly. "No Naruto, we aren't going to the oases tonight, we're going somewhere that makes the oases look like Suna. You can bring Foxy, but Mouse can't come, he has a sore throat, so he went home." Dog answered the questions calmly, despite his mounting anxiety. He was barely on schedule to get to the rendezvous. "If we want to go, we have to go now Naruto-kun." He said bluntly, cutting off the boy's next question before it formed. He made a few handsigns, creating a genjutsu of Naruto sleeping soundly in his bed. Scooping Naruto up, he opened the window, jumping out and disappearing into the night, Naruto's grumpy face of acceptance at being manhandled the last thing any passerby would have seen.

**Bear, Rabbit, Dog & Naruto: 4:02 am (2 Miles Outside of Suna)**

The alarms two miles away were blaring, Bear was covered in soot and blood, same as Rabbit and Dog. Naruto was immaculate, being carried in Dog's arms, his sand protecting him whenever shrapnel, soot, or enemies came close. His eyes were wide, filled with awe and a slight amount of fear. He'd just watched Doggie and these two other ninja kill a ten man squad that had been chasing him and Doggie. Doggie had covered his hands in sparks and slammed it through a big guy with a tanuki mask's chest and thrown him into two chunin's like it was nothing. The guy in the Teddy mask had hugged a guy in one of those fancy jounin vest so tight the guy had bent in half, and the guy in the Bunny mask was jumping around like crazy, throwing knives that went boom at everything. _'THAT WAS AWESOME!' _Naruto thought, even as the group continued running. _'They were all like, pow, bam, crack, boom!' 'And the other guys were all, AHH! Doggie is too tough for us with his friends!' _Naruto bounced around in Doggie's arms, excited at what was going on. "Hey Teddy guy, where are we going again?" He asked, looking over at the giant of a man.

Bear glanced over at Naruto, who looked like he was going to bounce right out of Dog's arms and bounce all the way to Konoha himself. "We're going to a place called Konoha. It's where you were born." He looked at Naruto, who nodded in understanding, before he turned his head forward, returning to watching the surrounding area for Suna nin.

Naruto looked over at the man who jumped around like he did after candy, wondering if he would tell him more. "Hey Bunny, Why is Doggie helping you guys if he's a DESERT guy?" He asked, curious on why Doggie would be willing to get in so much trouble with that face paint guy with the weird hat in the tower, even if it was for his friends.

Rabbit turned around as he ran, looking at Naruto as he spoke. "Well, Doggie is originally from Konoha too. We sent him to watch you cause we didn't trust those Sand dudes." He said, dodging to the side and barely missing a tree as Bear yelled out "Left", guiding Rabbit as he talked to Naruto.

Naruto looked up at Doggie, who nodded, confirming what Bunny had said. Naruto's eyes widened, wondering just how tough this place was if they could let Doggie follow him around just cause. "Wow." He said, causing Bunny to laugh.

Bunny stopped laughing a few seconds after Naruto's response. "Yeah, wow." He said, mirth in his voice as he spun back around, to watch where he was going. They still had a long run ahead of them. And the traps his shadow clones had made would only slow pursuit for so long.

**Kazekage: 5 am (Suna)**

The messenger burst through the double doors of the Kazekage's office, his breaths coming in deep heaves as he tried to deliver his message. "Lord Kazekage, Rat was found dead, and the team that was searching for Dog and Naruto was found massacred outside of the village." He doubled over, panting from exhaustion. The Kazekage sat in his chair, overlooking his village. On one hand, he had finally rid himself of a constant, albeit extremely slow drain on his troops, along with a long time mole. On the other hand, he had lost good men due to the mole and the small demon child.

He looked over at the messenger, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Send Sandstorm after them." He said, his voice carrying a weight of finality. The messenger nodded before turning slowly and rocketing off to deliver the Kazekage's orders.

**Sandstorm Unit: 5:30am (Suna)**

Geared up and ready to go, the fifteen man unit was assembled and ready to move, waiting at the gate for their commanding officer. Without further delay, the squad leader Lion dropped down, the Kazekage dropping as second before her. The Kazekage looked at his most elite unit, one Dog would've been a part of, given another year, and uttered one word. "Go."

Without delay, the unit was gone, aside from Lion, who the Kazekage had a hold of. "If he isn't killed, don't come back." He hissed, his eyes cold as he stared directly into her eyes through her mask. He was rewarded with a glare, full of spite, shame, and fear. "Yes Sir." She responded, her voice full of venom. He dropped her arm and she disappeared, following after her squad. The Kazekage turned away, walking back to his office, his face covered by his veil, but his aura one of pure malice after the brief confrontation with his wife.

**Dog, Naruto, Bear & Rabbit: 6:20 am (2 miles from outpost)**

"RAAAAAH!" Rabbit screamed, covered in blood, a kunai dug into his thigh as he tackled the Sandstorm agent to the ground, repeatedly ramming his kunai into the man's chest. He latched onto the dead agent's uniform, rolling and using the body he dragged with him for cover. The dead agent took four kunai to the back, sparing Rabbit. Rabbit kicked the body off of him when he heard a loud snap and a gurgled scream only a second after the kunai impacted into the body. Looking in the direction the kunai were thrown from, he saw Bear yank his hand out of the Sandstorm agent's back.

Bear slouched slightly, breathing heavily as he looked at the wakizashi buried in his stomach.

He looked over at Rabbit, who was slowly getting to his feet, favoring his left leg and cradling his left hand, which had been broken in the ambush. "Are you alright?" Bear asked, his voice coming out raspy and weaker than normal. Rabbit nodded, still trying to catch his breath.

Dog landed a second later, having lured away three of the agents. He carried an unconscious Naruto under his left arm, his right arm slashed due to a wind jutsu, his hair matted down with blood from a cut to his scalp, and his mask missing, his lower facemask and sharigan eye visible for the world to see. "This was their fast unit, we need to move, fast." He said, his voice hoarse and weak, having been stopped from running due to an arm bar to the throat. He looked down at Naruto, silently thanking the boy who stopped a wakizashi from slicing his head open and turning the fight in their favor with his sand puppet act. He killed the one who tried to slice open Dog's head, and used the man's body to distract the other operative. The operative was one who had broken up one of Naruto's fights before though, and he quickly dispatched the boy.

Bear and Rabbit moved quickly, falling into place with the now unmasked Dog, before running off towards the outpost, their pace only slightly slowed due to their injuries. Bear touched the side of his mask, activating his communicator. "We've extracted the targets, retrieval units have been deployed to eliminate both objectives. All operatives wounded and primary objective unconscious. ETA in ideal conditions, fifteen minutes. Maintaining radio silence from here on out."

**Suna Outpost: 6:20am **

Toad rose quickly, hearing the radio chatter. He turned, seeing Dolphin and Dragon already up, in from their rounds, listening to the radio communication. Looking to his left he saw Ox grabbing the last of his gear, and Jackal setting the last of the traps.

Jackal looked up, locking eyes with his team leader. "We're ready to move out Sir." He said, tightening the wire that, when tripped, would unleash Rabbit's hell house of explosions.

Toad nodded, standing up, his armor already in place. "They said they were all wounded and the objective was unconscious, right?" He asked, directing his question at Dragon.

Dragon nodded, not taking his eyes off of the communicator. "Yes Sir, they said that retrieval units were deployed in pursuit of them as well."

Toad looked back to Jackal. "Jackal, take Ox and Dolphin and escort them the rest of the way here. If things look bad, get the primary objective here, or send a three burst signal over the communicator." He ordered, getting a nod of consent before Jackal disappeared with Dolphin and Ox.

Dragon looked at Toad, who had taken a seat, his hands together, palms touching, as he sat in the lotus position. He went to talk to Toad, but thought better of it, going back to preparing himself and sealing up the rest of the camp. He went back to Toad, who was still sitting in the same position, like a stone monument, unmoving. He shrugged before going to check the traps, antsy.. It'd already been twenty five minutes.. Bear was never late.

**AN: If anyone would like to draw a picture of Naruto holding Foxy, in his apartment for me, I'd appreciate it. I can't offer any payment, but I'd like to see what my writing causes you to see in your mind.**

**AN 2: Trying to see what this looks like double spaced. I'll change it back if anyone has problems reading it, or if a majority of people don't like how it looks.**

** Thanks for reading!**


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